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James Gordon (New Earth)
A man of integrity, the newly-promoted Lt. Gordon found that his only ally against the mob-controlled Gotham police department was the fledgling Batman, although he was forced to keep their working relationship out of the public eye whenever possible.Batman #404-407 Gordon is able to contact Batman with the Bat-Signal, and usually meets with him on the rooftop of Gotham City Police Headquarters. To his constant annoyance, Batman often disappears silently while Gordon's back is turned, often while he's in the middle of talking. Gordon forged an alliance in his early years with Batman and Harvey Dent, Gotham's District Attorney, as the three most dedicated and capable people to take down organized crime in Gotham, namely the "Roman Empire," the crime family led by Carmine Falcone. Although they did succeed, it was at the cost of Harvey's sanity, as he became the villainous Two-Face after being scarred with acid by one of Falcone's underlings, Sal Maroni. To this day, the loss of Harvey Dent, not just the ally but the man, is one of Gordon's greatest regrets, and he blames himself somewhat for not trusting Dent when the evidence pointed towards him. After Dent's transformation, Janice Porter became the new D.A. of Gotham. Gordon and Porter later began investigating a series of murders by a killer known as The Hangman. Porter was killed by Two-Face, and the Hangman was soon revealed to be Sofia Gigante Falcone, the daughter of Carmine Falcone. Sofia, too, was killed by Two-Face, ending the Falcone crime family's influence over Gotham.Batman: The Long Halloween Barbara Gordon After his brother and sister-in-law were killed in a car crash, Gordon became the legal guardian of his niece, Barbara Gordon, and later adopted her as his daughter. It was around this time that tensions in the Gordons' marriage led Barbara Eileen Gordon to leave her husband and Gotham City, taking James, Jr. with her. Their niece, Barbara, stayed with her adoptive father, and Gordon functions largely in this role to her. Barbara had idolized the Batman all of her life, and was astonished after coming to Gotham to find that her uncle actually worked with him. At times, Barbara's relationship with her adoptive father was strained, as all parent-child ones are. Because the Batman brought him stress, as a rebellious act she made her own Bat-''Girl'' costume to wear to a large costume party fundraiser hosted by the GCPD with her uncle as the guest of honor. Unexpectedly, Killer Moth interrupted the festivities with his goons, and Barbara was forced to use her black belt in karate to save billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Afterwards, she began adopting the identity of Batgirl, and although she met with some resistance at first from Batman and Robin, she was eventually able to prove her mettle and became a full member of the Batman Family.Batgirl: Year One During her time as Batgirl, it was unclear as to whether or not Gordon knew her identity. He certainly seemed to suspect it, but she usually managed to at least create reasonable doubt. Robin, however, who had a crush on her from his previous interactions with her as Dick Grayson, was able to tell her identity from her facial features alone, and he did not even live with her. The Killing Joke Later, in one particularly memorable night of mayhem, The Joker kidnapped Gordon from his home and shot Barbara, making her a paraplegic for life. He then took Gordon to a run-down amusement park he had souped-up, stripped him naked, put a collar with a leash on him, and caged him. In an effort to drive Gordon insane, he forced him to look at massively enlarged photos of Barbara naked and bleeding, degraded and in pain, so he could prove to Batman that even the most grounded, seemingly normal person can lose their minds after having "one bad day." Batman eventually apprehended the Joker and rescued Gordon. Despite the intense trauma he had endured, Gordon's sanity and code of ethics remained intact; before Batman left to pursue The Joker, Jim insisted that Batman apprehend the Joker without harming him, despite his atrocities, because the Joker had to be shown "that our way works." In the aftermath of her paralysis, Barbara was forced to end her career as Batgirl, but continued to fight crime. She adopted the enigmatic persona of the computer presence, Oracle, working as an information source for the superhero community, and behind-the-scenes leader of the all-female team, The Birds of Prey. Knightfall Gordon investigated the murder of gangster "No-Nose" Novak and later he worked together with Batman to bring down Black Mask and his gang, the False Face Society. After that, Gordon learned that he has been targeted by the assassin known as Headhunter and he went out looking for the assassin. Gordon got lucky when he avoided two direct shots to the head from the assassin and he was saved by the timely arrival of Batman. Gordon arrested the assassin and took him to the GCPD Headquarters, where he joined his worried wife Sarah. Soon after that, Gordon informed Batman about The General and The Riddler's activities. Gordon was informed about the theft of armament from a military precinct, after which, all the inmates from Arkham were released. Mayor Krol demanded Gordon that the police kill all the inmates on the street but Gordon refused. Tension grew between them and after Krol threatened to remove Gordon as Police Commissioner, Krol gave Gordon 24 hours to get the situation under control. Gordon summoned Batman and tried to explain the situation to him. However, Gordon's mind was being tricked into seeing Batman by Cornelius Stirk, who attacked Gordon and tried to kill him. The real Batman appeared in time to save Gordon and took down Stirk. After the confrontation, Gordon was left in shock and had to be carried away by his wife, Sarah. A few days later, Gordon received a call from Mayor Krol, informing him about his abduction and asking him to summon the National Guard. Gordon traced the call to the booth inside the Gotham River Tunnel and after commanding the whole GCPD to get to the place, he traveled there himself, but wasn't able to enter as the tunnel had been blocked. Moments later, Gordon and the others located Krol near the edge of the river and they acted quick to get the man some medical attention. When Batman was exposed after his defeat at the hands of Bane, Gordon blamed Montoya for letting some strangers take Batman with them, but he was appeased by Bullock. Afterwards, Gordon tried to contact Batman by turning on the Bat-Signal, to no avail. He was then contacted by Robin, who asked his help on getting a special medicine for Batman and Gordon had Bullock and Montoya deliver the package. When the new Batman emerged, Gordon quickly realized that he was dealing with a new Dark Knight due to his more brutal approach, attempting to arrange a new task force to bring down the new Batman even as the mayor expressed approval of this Batman's more brutal methods. Fortunately, the original Batman returned to defeat the replacement, but when a third man took over the role without telling Gordon explicitly that he was a different person, Gordon's trust in Batman took a further knock, Gordon quickly informing the newcomer about the differences he'd identified and refusing to trust the costume after so long spent learning to trust the man. As a result of this hostility, Gordon was briefly replaced as commissioner by his wife Sarah, but he eventually returned to his original position after the original Batman returned. No Man's Land Following the "Contagion," "Legacy" and the "Cataclysm," Gotham City was nearly completely destroyed, and quarantined and isolated from outside assistance by the U.S. Government. Gordon was one of the few who remained behind by choice, and struggled to maintain order amidst the rampant crime and anarchy. Batman was mysteriously absent for the initial three months of the crisis, and Gordon felt somewhat betrayed. He went as far as to renounce Batman's name, and deny his symbol as a means for protection, believing that it only symbolized false hope. He forged an uneasy alliance with his old friend Harvey Dent (Two-Face), but was later (naturally) double-crossed, kidnapped, and put on trial by Two-Face for breaking their "legally-binding" alliance. He escaped Two-Face's wrath, and later met with Batman once again. In this confrontation, Gordon expressed his disgust towards Batman for letting Gotham "fall into ruin". Batman offered to prove his trust by revealing his secret identity, but Gordon refused to look when Batman removed his mask. Eventually their relationship was repaired. New Gotham After Gordon's relationship with his wife Barbara had become strained, the two eventually divorced. He fell in love with and married fellow officer Sarah Essen, with whom he was much more compatible. However, Essen could not comprehend why Gordon needed Batman so much, which occasionally also put a strain on their relationship, although basically they loved each other and got along well. Unfortunately, she was shot in the head by the Joker at the very end of "No Man's Land," for catching a baby he had thrown at her after he told her not to move. An enraged Gordon was barely able to restrain himself from killing the Joker, but did end up brutally shooting the Joker in the knee. Afterwards, the Joker was at first incredulous, believing that Gordon may have shot him so he could never walk again, but soon he began to laugh, after he "got the joke," that Gordon had just avenged his daughter. Officer Down During the events of "Batman: Officer Down," Gordon was gunned down by a crooked police officer, a man of whose family he had been arrested in front of by Gordon. Although Gordon was put into a coma, he did eventually pull through, and the true meaning of his relationship with Batman was more heavily gone into. Batman was nearly unable to work with the rest of the Gotham Knights in bringing down the shooter, spending all of his time at Gordon's bedside. Barbara, and his more loyal amongst the GCPD, such as his longtime friends Harvey Bullock, Renée Montoya and Crispus Allen were among those hardest hit, Barbara more so than anyone else. Although the assailant was eventually brought in for interrogation, they were unable to successfully prosecute him, and he ended up with his revenge taken on Gordon, but still at large. This is arguably the fault of Crispus Allen, who refused to use the Batman as an interrogation tool until the very end of the time they were allowed legally to hold him, believing it immoral, allowing the man to leave the cell without ever explicitly saying anything to confirm whether he'd shot Gordon or not. Retirement Gordon retired from the police force after having served in it for more than 20 years. He remained in Gotham, and occasionally enjoyed nighttime visits from Batman, who would come to him for advice and, although the topic was clearly directly avoided by Bruce, for companionship. Commissioner Michael Akins became the new head of the GCPD after his departure. Gordon's most prominent moment in Batman's life during this time was when he was contacted by the currently-reformed Harvey Dent to stop Batman from beating the Joker to death after the Joker was framed for the apparent murder of Thomas Elliot, helping Batman get through his rage to see that killing the Joker would accomplish nothing but make him just another criminal, Gordon refusing to allow his friend to fall like that. Shortly after, Gordon was summoned to a hospital by Robin, who needed Gordon's help protecting an injured Ventriloquist and a deranged Frank Ivers. However, Robin and Gordon fell victims to an infectious neurotoxin that caused them to attack each other and lose control of their inhibitions, resulting in chaos for the situation. With help from Frank Ivers, Gordon and Robin were freed from the fear and returned to normality. Some time later, Gotham became a war zone as a city-wide gang war broke out. After talking with Michael Akins, Batman approached Gordon and tried to make him convince Akins to give him the control of the GCPD, but Gordon refused to do so, since he believed Batman had no right to ask such thing. When the war was over, Barbara Gordon decided to leave the city and James decided to do the same. During a brief conversation with Batman, Gordon informed him about his decision. Shortly after, Gordon sold his house to Brad Westwood, not knowing that he was in fact Batman. Batman kept Gordon's home intact and only used the basement as a small headquarters. When Barbara required surgery to save her life from the Brainiac virus while in Metropolis, Gordon visited her. She revealed to him her current role as Oracle, as well as her past as Batgirl. Gordon admitted that he knew of her life as Batgirl, but was pleasantly surprised to hear that even after being crippled, she had found a way to continue her life as a superhero. He continues to be very proud of her accomplishments. Return As of "One Year Later" after the Infinite Crisis, Gordon had returned to the role of Gotham's Police Commissioner.Batman: Face the Face The GCPD had uncovered immense corruption from within, reportedly reaching all the way up to Commissioner Akins himself. Commissioner Gordon continued to work with and without the aid of Batman and Robin, constantly striving for a better Gotham City. Batman R.I.P. Gordon arrested one of Le Bossu's henchmen and shortly after, he was contacted by the Mayor of Gotham, who informed Gordon about a horrid discovery about the Wayne Family. The Mayor had the intention to made it public, but Gordon refused to believe anything about the story. However, the evidence was clear and there was nothing Gordon could do about it. Gordon decided to reach Bruce Wayne before the media revealed the information, so he went to Wayne Manor to talk with him. However, Gordon walked into a trap set by The Black Glove and the officer with him was killed in the house. Gordon managed to avoid activating any other traps set by El Sombrero until he was forced to run to prevent a bomb from exploding. However, he was saved by the timely arrival of Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins who were investigating Batman's disappearance. After being saved, Gordon summoned more officers and followed Talia's men to Arkham Asylum, but they stopped before arriving there as a massive explosion took place in the river. Gordon was told that Batman was investigating the conspiracy against Bruce Wayne at Arkham. After this events, Gordon tried to contact Batman to no avail. He turned the Bat-Signal on for long periods of time, but Batman wouldn't come. His hopes were crushed when instead of Batman, Geo-Force and Katana appeared to ask him about Batman. Gordon knew that Batman was probably gone for good when Nightwing appeared and started to beat some street thugs with unnecessary violence.Batman and the Outsiders Vol 2 11 As time passed, Gordon would always turn on the Bat-Signal for hours, hoping that Batman would suddenly appear, to no avail. When working on a case against Two-Face, Gordon tried to contact Batman once more, but it was Nightwing who answered and Gordon lost hopes of Batman ever returning. Battle for the Cowl Gotham City was overwhelmed with crime after Batman's death and the GCPD couldn't handle the critical situation. The people of Gotham organized a strike demanding Gordon's resign and after a failed press conference, Gordon noticed a Bat-Signal lit up in the sky, with the letters "R.I.P." on it. Following the source, Gordon arrived at Arkham Asylum, place which had been destroyed and where he also met Nightwing. Hours later, Gordon met with the Major and wasn't able to give a solution to the Arkham situation. He then returned to the GCPD, where he was informed about Mr. Freeze's sighting. He then took a whole tactical team to the place. However, Freeze overpowered them, captured Gordon and escaped the place with his hostage. After fourteen hours of captivity, Gordon attacked Freeze, freed himself and defeated Freeze by creating a giant explosion that caught the attention of the entire GCPD. After this events a new Batman, who killed criminals, appeared and Gordon decided to reinforce the rightful law in Gotham. Shortly after, Barbara returned to Gotham and James took her out at night for dinner. A few days later, Gordon was informed of an arms shipment stolen from Two-Face and he assumed that the responsible was Penguin. Gordon wanted to arrest him, but there wasn't enough evidence. At that moment, the GCPD HQ was infiltrated by several Arkham fugitives and Jane Doe attacked Gordon, supposedly under Two-Face's instructions and shot him thrice in the chest. Gordon survived thanks to his bulletproof vest, but Gotham was drowned in chaos with little he could do. Blackest Night While mourning the passing of the original Dark Knight Detective, Gordon and his daughter witnessed Hal Jordan (Green Lantern)|Green Lantern crash into the Bat-Signal, after being assaulted by a reanimated version of the deceased Martian Manhunter. After offering the hero a spare car, the Gordons then find themselves fighting for their lives against the reanimated versions of the original Dark Knight Detective's rogue gallery members at Gotham Central, where Gordon made short work of serial killer Abattoir (in Black Lantern form) with a shotgun (pumping rounds into him leaving nothing but his feet intact, showcasing his nastiness with the 12 gauge). They were rescued by the current Dark Knight, Robin, Red Robin, and Deadman, but were later attacked by Batman's and Red Robin's parents, the reanimated Flying Graysons and the Drakes. While Batman and Red Robin battled the Black Lanterns, Robin took the Gordons to their underground base where Alfred Pennyworth tended his wounds (Gordon was unconscious, thus protecting the team's secret identities) along with Barbara's at the bunker's infirmary. Shortly after, a new Batman appeared in Gotham and the city's status quo returned. When the reporter Vicki Vale's life was threatened by several criminals who wanted to get their hands on her, the GCPD placed her in a special protection program. Gordon and a small team hid her in the Aames Hotel, but they were found and attacked by a couple of Penguin's mercenaries. Gordon managed to get Vale out of the building alive with help from the mysterious vigilante, Insider. After that night, Gordon realized that Insider was in fact the original Batman, who had returned. The Black Mirror The Commissioner is surprised when his son James Jr. returns to Gotham. Barbara tries to warn him that her step-brother is a psychopath, but young James confronts his father. He explains that he's taking medication for his psychopathic tendencies, and asks his father not to get in the way of him getting a job with Leslie Thompkins. Gordon hunts down an old child murderer, and begins to suspect that he might have been wrong about the young girl they believe his son killed as a child. Sonia Zucco is targeted by the super-villains Roadrunner and Tiger Shark, so Gordon has Batman help track down her friend's killer. , 877, 878 Barbara runs tests on James Jr.'s medication and finds he's reversed the formula, to increase psychopathic tendencies instead of limit them. They realize he's using his job with Leslie Thompkins to turn thousands of infants into psychopaths like him. Barbara Eileen is attacked by a toxin and they hunt down the Joker, but James Jr. reveals himself as the culprit when he kidnaps his step-sister. Batman hunts James Jr. down and stops him, the Commissioner shoots his own son in the legs and then stops him from jumping off a bridge. They're left unsure whether or not they really stopped his plan to turn infants into psychopaths, but it's implied he might have succeeded. | Powers = | Abilities = * : James Gordon received an honorary doctorate in the field of criminology from Gotham State University. * : Gordon served in the United States military and was trained in hand-to-hand combat. By his own account, his martial prowess was honed to the point that he could defeat a Green Beret in physical combat. * : James Gordon is proficient in all aspects of criminal detective work and police procedural matters. He also has a keen instinct in regards to the political aspects of managing the Gotham City Police Department. * * : He has also shown remarkable strength of will and an ability to maintain his mental fortitude and sanity in situations when other characters such as Batman or Superman would have broken. * : He is also an expert leader, having spent decades as the leader of the world's most corrupt police force in the most dangerous city. That he has managed to not only survive, but to make the GCPD stronger is a testament to his abilities. * * : In his youth, Gordon served in the United States military. | Strength = | Weaknesses = * : Jim Gordon has a heart condition, which he contracted after a lifetime of cigarette smoking. He has since quit but occasionally relapses in times of stress or as an excuse to go to the top of the GCPD building. | Equipment = | Transportation = * Police Cruiser | Weapons = * .38 Special Police Issue | Notes = * The character of Commissioner Gordon was originally created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane and first appeared in . The New Earth incarnation of James Gordon's character is mostly attributed to Dennis O'Neil and Frank Miller, first appearing in . | Trivia = * Throughout his career James Gordon has been known as: the Commish; Jim Gordon; Sgt. Gordon; Lt. Gordon; and Captain Gordon. | Wikipedia = James Gordon (comics) | DC = commissioner-james-gordon | Links = * Commissioner Gordon at DCU Guide * Commissioner Gordon at Comic Book Database | Recommended = * Batman: Year One * Batman: Gordon of Gotham * Batman: Wrath Child * Batman: The Long Halloween * Batman: Dark Victory * Batman: Turning Points * Batman: The Killing Joke * Batman: No Man's Land * Batman: Officer Down * Batman: Gordon's Law }} fr:James Gordon (Nouvelle Terre) Category:Divorced Characters Category:Batman Supporting Cast